Build a Wall of Resolve—Brick by Brick
Today we build a brick wall around your resolve.
Accountability is what we’ll call it, but I want you to think of it as both incentive and insurance. Everyone knows establishing accountability helps us to stay the course, even when our former ways tempt us. If a little accountability is good, and more is better, than a mountain is what we’ll create.
You’re far more likely to adhere to your habits when you create a fortress of accountability around them. And the strongest form of accountability comes from outside ourselves.
Snag a Workout Buddy
Those who embark on a fitness journey with a friend, spouse, or family member have nearly double the success rate of someone who doesn’t, statistics show. A neighbor, your BFF, or even one of your Facebook friends who agrees to work out with you will help to ensure your adherence. Ask this person for a 6-month commitment, after which the two you can continue on or find another pushy partner!
This relationship goes both ways. Your partner must promise not to let you off the hook when you think you’re too tired or too busy to exercise. You’ll do the same for her or him.
Keep a Food Journal
This one is nonnegotiable. Believe me, I know the hardest part of counting calories is remembering to do it. Balancing your checkbook isn’t a whole lotta fun either, but both are necessary if you don’t want to end up in big trouble.
Listen, if you’re anything like me, you can barely remember where you parked, let alone every piece of food you eat. But you must know, and with relative accuracy. Why? Because just 100 calories more than you need each day can result in a 10-pound weight gain in just 1 year. Even if no one saw you eat those Hershey’s Kisses or the crust from your kid’s PB&J, the calories count and they add up fast. So buy yourself a cute portable notebook or download an app.
Honestly, keeping your journal on your phone with an app is really the easiest the way to go! A couple of the more popular ones on the iPhone are Calorie Tracker and Lose It! Since you have the Internet at your fingertips, you no longer have an excuse for not knowing how many calories any food item contains. The answer is only one little Google search away. Not to fear, Crackberry lovers! You have plenty of apps to choose from, too! And even more when you come to your senses and join our little iPhone cult.
Take a Picture of Yourself
You: Nooooooo!
Me: Yesssss!
No worries! Technology will make it painless! Just snap that photo yourself, in the privacy of your own bathroom, using your smartphone! No one but you will ever have to see it. Well, at least not until you’re so blown away by your own results that you’re pulling out your “before” photo to inspire others.
Recently I watched this amazing video titled 365 Days of Fitness. In it, a man has taken a picture of himself, shirtless, postworkout, every day from day 1 to day 365 to document the slow and steady progression of his journey. He then assembled the photos in a manner to fly by in fast rotation. You literally feel like you’re watching the story of the incredibly shrinking and shredding man!
So throw on a bathing suit, set up your camera, and snap some pics. Once a week, snap another pic wearing the same suit. This will allow you to see with certainty the amazing progress you’re making!
Notice I said bathing suit. Do not wear your underwear. I’m not kidding. First, if I have to see one more sad-faced overweight person in a pair of skivvies, I’m gonna pinch someone’s head off! Second, there will come a day when you will want to show the world how far you’ve come—trust me—and you will not want to share those photos if you’re wearing your underwear.
You may not be happy with what you see today, but that too can be used to keep you motivated. Keep the photo on your phone where no one else will find it except you. Look at it when you’re tempted to make poor food choices. Thinking about turning into the parking lot at Baskin-Robbins? What does today’s photo think of that?
Make a Public Proclamation
When you share your goals with others, people genuinely want to see you succeed. When you make your goals a matter of public record (i.e., posting it on Facebook, announcing it at your family dinner, sharing your goals with co-workers, etc.), you enlist others in your hopes. The integrity of your word and your proclamation shore up your intentions and motivate you to make it happen.
Draw Up an Accountability Contract
Any successful transformation requires you to be fully committed to changing your lifestyle. By formally agreeing to a contract, you confirm your commitment to your goals. In the business world, it is not uncommon for penalties to apply when the terms of the contract are not met. It’s one thing to sign an accountability contract, quite another to have serious consequences for not meeting the terms.
Accountability contracts can include just about any area. For example, you can incentivize your weight maintenance by signing a friendly contract to pay your workout partner $100 for every pound you gain over your target weight. That’s motivation! Accountability contracts can be used to remind you to go to bed with your spouse, wake early, and exercise or reach a business objective. Where do you find one?
Google it!
Join an Online Support Group
Being part of an online community (some charge; some are free) will keep you accountable, and you can check in when your schedule permits. These sites often offer live chat forums, videos, recipes, experts, and motivation. And the communities on some of these sites are so powerful that their success stories will blow your mind. If you’re looking for inspiration, you’ll find it on these forums!
Many sites also provide online weight-loss support and tools such as BMR calculators, contests, message boards, and more to help you through your journey, which is an awfully strong layer of accountability. I particularly love the user-generated weight-loss support forums. You can choose between professional weight-loss support or simply share ideas, motivation, and support with others just like you!
- http://dailyburn.com
- www.onlinefitnesslog.com
- www.sparkpeople.com
- www.myyogaonline.com
- www.beachbody.com
- www.3fatchicks.com
- www.30daypush.com
Join a Group Fitness Class
There are many advantages to group exercise and group fitness classes. One major benefit is the motivation you’ll gain from working out with others. Statistics show the average person works with greater intensity and for longer periods of time when he or she exercises with others. The group that you work out with often forms a family and a system of support. You’ll forge friendships and networking opportunities that will last a lifetime.
Miss a workout and you’re likely to be greeted with “Hey, where were you yesterday?” The unspoken expectation that you’ll be there is powerful! The variety and social nature of group classes will keep things interesting. Even as a fitness professional, I find that the classes that I teach keep me inspired and in check.
Join or Create a Mastermind!
What’s a mastermind? It’s a group of people who commit to push each other.
They may or may not have similar goals, but what they share in common is their commitment to push each other. Think of it as a support group where excuses won’t fly! Mastermind is a term originally coined by Napoleon Hill in his timeless classic Think and Grow Rich in which he encouraged people to come together to create synergistic energy and momentum toward their goals.
I’ve been running masterminds for years and can tell you it is one of the most rewarding and valuable investments of my time. Even though I consider myself a highly motivated, goal-oriented individual, the accountability of a small group that meets on a regular schedule to evaluate each other’s progress is extremely inspiring.
When it comes to “goal getting,” a group of motivated individuals meeting once a week, maybe once a month to push each other, offer feedback, support, and accountability is unbelievably effective. In a mastermind or whatever you want to call your group of movers and shakers, you’ll be accountable to people who, like you, want to be pushed to reach their goals professionally as well as personally.
I call my own weekly group the Three Percenters (referring to the small percentage of people who actually follow a system of written goal mastery). I selected each person first of all because I really like each of them, they’re all serious about getting serious, and most important, they’re each the type of individual who wants to help others but wouldn’t be afraid to voice an opinion if a fellow member wasn’t living up to his or her potential! Each of us is from a different perspective. With members ranging from experienced business owners to a stay-at-home mom looking to turn her hobby into an enterprise, a mastermind will expose you to unique opinions and the experience of those from another industry or life perspective.
The Three Percenters meet once a week for 2 hours over 6 months. The idea is to have members push each other to achieve their goals, keep their word from the previous week, and network to help each other’s businesses grow!
The new strategies and mutual excitement you feel as members of your group peck away at their goals will create momentum; forming or joining a mastermind skyrockets the speed of your success. When you commit to other successful people, you are more likely to follow through than if you just commit to yourself.
To find a mastermind group in your area, log on to Google and type “join mastermind [name of your city].” You might even want to start your own group. If you do, limit meetings to five or six people. Include members who are up and coming or well-established movers and shakers. Invite people with varying levels of success to make it fun for those with well-established success to mentor newbies. The Web site www.lifehack.org is a great place for ideas on selecting and running your own mastermind.
Tweet Your Progress
There are countless ways to use the watchful eyes of your friends in social media to keep you accountable. Ask your virtual friends for their assistance in keeping your eyes on the prize. Consider a daily tweet with your weight, take a picture of yourself postworkout, create a Facebook album with your progress photos.
Here’s what happens when you share your journey in social media: People cheer, support, and find inspiration from you. When you receive a Facebook inbox from someone so profoundly touched by your photos or your story, it becomes bigger than you. Nothing creates accountability and motivation like knowing someone, even a virtual friend, is inspired by your journey.
Have you ever noticed when you’re watching one of the recovery addiction programs that the counselors tend to be recovering addicts themselves?
Weight-loss coaches are often successfully healthy people who are now teaching others how to master their own weight. Placing yourself in the role of teacher, mentor, or coach places a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders. It forces you to be accountable. Why do you think I teach workout classes every day of the week?
Check Out Online Coaching
I’m a huge fan of coaching! Even though I’ve been public speaking for more than 15 years, I use a speaking coach. Even after two of my infomercials reached number one, I hired an on-camera coach to learn to better connect on screen. A good coach will push you to reach your potential, help you make informed decisions about your career, business, or financial goals. The right coach becomes your sounding board and your voice of reason. A coach will keep you accountable and will continually raise the bar. You will benefit from their experience, expertise, and networking opportunities. The best part of working with a coach is what I call the “winning record” incentive. That is to say that coaches, and especially the most successful coaches, have a vested interest in maintaining their winning streak. They want you to succeed!
Talk to any people who have risen to the top of their profession, and you will find a great coach helped them to reach their potential.
If you’re thinking of hiring a life coach, business coach, or fitness coach, a great solution is online coaching done via phone, e-mail, Skype, and Ustream. Many people enjoy the anonymity and (relative) affordability of using an online coach.
Coaching services can range from free to $150 per hour. Before you hire a coach, do your research. Ask for recommendations, and never commit to advance payment until you feel you’ve had enough time to determine if your coach has the qualities you need.
Find a Therapist
You might wonder why I would list a therapist as a source of accountability. For starters, if you have struggled with food addiction, body issues, fear of success, or self-doubt, these issues may be the result of early traumas in your life. A therapist will not only help you to solve the issues that are causing you to turn to food but also may help you to deal permanently with a matter that otherwise might sabotage your success.
Whatever you want to label it, “letting yourself go,” “getting fat,” or “obese,” your physical condition probably has very little to do with just “lacking willpower.” Most experts agree that obesity often leads to or results from an addiction, an addiction to food. For the food addict, cravings are as powerful and life altering as those an alcoholic or drug addict experiences. Joining a support group or reorganizing your pantry is like putting a bandage on a hemorrhaging wound. Not going to cut it. If you have demons, unresolved issues that continue like a beach ball to surface despite your best efforts to push them below the surface, I urge you to find a qualified individual to help you. While society doesn’t always understand the issues, food addiction experts know the inner struggles that compulsive overeaters and those who suffer from eating disorders face.
Therapy is like dental care. Don’t expect to “fix it,” brush your hands together, and walk away forever. You’ll need a checkup from time to time. A great therapist will keep you accountable.
Spirituality and Religion
Having a spiritual connection or religious affiliation offers a wonderful source of support. Spirituality can offer a sense of hope and purpose in our life and help us find greater strength and resilience. You can also connect with a community of others who have similar beliefs. Do some research; your church probably offers support and small groups for those looking for accountability on their weight-loss journey. Why stop there? There’s more to this journey than health and fitness. If your faith provides you with the strength to do anything, why not find a faith-based group that aligns with your Push goal?
